Samsung's new 8-point battery check will keep future handsets safe

Now that Samsung has confirmed the battery issues that caused the Galaxy Note 7 to overheat and explode, it is doing its best to ensure it never happens again. This is the new 8-point battery check future batteries will go through before being installed in Samsung devices.

“Since the Galaxy Note7 recall, we’ve re-assessed every step of the smartphone manufacturing process and developed the 8-Point Battery Safety Check,” Samsung explains in its infographic new. Note this is for all Samsung devices with lithium-ion cells — not just phones.

“It involves putting our batteries through extreme testing, inside and out, followed by careful inspection by X-ray and the human eye. We are making a stronger commitment to safer devices.”

The check starts with a durability test that includes overcharging, nail puncture, and extreme temperature tests. Each battery is then inspected visually before being X-rayed for abnormalities. The batteries then undergo a “large-scale” charging and discharging test.

Samsung then checks to ensure that there are no signs of leakage of the volatile organic compound in each cell. There are also tests for disassembly, accelerated usage, and voltake changes between manufacturing and assembly.

Many of these tests were already carried out by Samsung in the past, so it’s not like the company was just installing any old batteries and keeping its fingers crossed. However, some of them — including the leakage, discharge, and accelerated usage tests — are new to the process.

Samsung will be hoping its new safety checks restore trust in its fans, and give them confidence in future Galaxy handsets. The South Korean company is expected to launch the Galaxy S8 this spring and it will be desperate to convince consumers there will be no battery issues with that.